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Kerry Miller

Member Since 2023
Cat recently diagnosed. Vet for day yesterday to determine treatment program. Placed on one unit. Couldn’t give last night b/c left vet with low numbers. Ate 2 tablespoons last night, 2 ounces of waters. Today not eating or drinking. No peeing either. Pooped last night. Vet is closed. What do I do? He’s sleeping a lot- but alert- following me around house.
 
Kerry Miller said:
Cat recently diagnosed. Vet for day yesterday to determine treatment program. Placed on one unit. Couldn’t give last night b/c left vet with low numbers. Ate 2 tablespoons last night, 2 ounces of waters. Today not eating or drinking. No peeing either. Pooped last night. Vet is closed. What do I do? He’s sleeping a lot- but alert- following me around house.
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Forgot- he ate 1/3 can this morning vet said reduce insulin dose to half unit. Didn’t drink anything since and doesn’t want to eat dinner.
 
Kerry Miller said:
Cat recently diagnosed. Vet for day yesterday to determine treatment program. Placed on one unit. Couldn’t give last night b/c left vet with low numbers. Ate 2 tablespoons last night, 2 ounces of waters. Today not eating or drinking. No peeing either. Pooped last night. Vet is closed. What do I do? He’s sleeping a lot- but alert- following me around house.
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
What type of insulin?
If the blood glucose was low when left the vet, the dose may need to be lowered.
Are you hometesting the blood glucose? That is the only way to keep your kitty safe.
I’m concerned your kitty is not eating today. Cats must eat or they run into other problems.
Did the vet mention if your kitty had ketones at diagnosis?

What you need to do:
  • I would try and get your kitty to eat any food at the moment …..don’t worry if it is not suitable for a diabetic cat. We just need him to eat. I had trouble getting my kitty to eat during the first few days after diagnosis.
  • Go out and buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine for ketones…..it’s important we know if he has any as they need to me addressed immediately.
  • He may be nauseated. Is there any other vet you can go to to get checked?
  • Do you think he is dehydrated? You can check by feeling his gums..they should be slippery not tacky. Lift up his scruff…does it drip quickly or slowly?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Just seeing this.
I’m glad the vet said to reduce the dose.
Please tell us what type of insulin.
Please consider hometesting to keep your kitty safe.
HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS
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Novolin -Yes was treated for ketones by pushing fluids and given anti nausea medicine yesterday at vet.
I got him to eat other cat food I had - he ate a little- about a tablespoon so far. I’m keeping it down to see if he comes back. What do I do about the insulin if he doesn’t eat more?
 
Kerry Miller said:
Novolin - vet set me up with testing strips- only problem is he’s not peeing.
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Novolin insulin is a harsh and fast acting insulin and is not suitable for cats.
I would ask your vet to swap you to a more suitable insulin such a Lantus or Prozinc
With Novolin need to feed I hour before giving any insulin so that your kitty has food aboard to counter the insulin.

Kerry Miller said:
Yes was treated for ketones by pushing fluids and given anti nausea medicine yesterday at vet.
Click to expand...
With ketones in the picture it is really important that your kitty eats lots of food. Ketones form when there is not enough food and not enough insulin for the body to properly utilise the food to create energy. The result is ketones form. So the treatment to make sure your kitty eats lots of food and doesn’t miss his insulin dose.
However I would be very reluctant to give a Novolin without food.
Try and get him to eat so you can give the 1/2 unit of Novolin. If he doesn’t eat enough, but does eat some you might be able to give 1/4 unit. You will also need to try and get him to eat during the cycle as well. Offer any food he will eat,,,don’t worry if it is not a food for diabetes.

Do you have honey or Karo at home to rub in his gums if he drops low?
Are the test strips the vet gave you the ones to check ketones?
Was the antinausea medication an injection? You will need to ask the vet for some tablets to give at home as well.
I would go back to the vet tomorrow and tell him
  • Your kitty is not eating and you need another antinausea injection AND some antinausea tablets to have at home.
  • Ask about swapping to a more suitable insulin such a Lantus or Prozinc.
  • Check hydration
  • Check ketones
  • Ask vet to give more sub Q fluids
 
Kerry Miller said:
Novolin -Yes was treated for ketones by pushing fluids and given anti nausea medicine yesterday at vet.
I got him to eat other cat food I had - he ate a little- about a tablespoon so far. I’m keeping it down to see if he comes back. What do I do about the insulin if he doesn’t eat more?
Click to expand...
Try and get him to eat a bit more and then I would give him 1/4 unit. That is less than the 1/2 unit you gave last time. you will also need to get him to eat during this cycle …ie during the next 12 hours. We need him to eat more food, bath for the ketones and so he doesn’t drop too low.
Then I would take him back to the vet about what I posted in the previous post.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Novolin insulin is a harsh and fast acting insulin and is not suitable for cats.
I would ask your vet to swap you to a more suitable insulin such a Lantus or Prozinc
With Novolin need to feed I hour before giving any insulin so that your kitty has food aboard to counter the insulin.


With ketones in the picture it is really important that your kitty eats lots of food. Ketones form when there is not enough food and not enough insulin for the body to properly utilise the food to create energy. The result is ketones form. So the treatment to make sure your kitty eats lots of food and doesn’t miss his insulin dose.
However I would be very reluctant to give a Novolin without food.
Try and get him to eat so you can give the 1/2 unit of Novolin. If he doesn’t eat enough, but does eat some you might be able to give 1/4 unit. You will also need to try and get him to eat during the cycle as well. Offer any food he will eat,,,don’t worry if it is not a food for diabetes.

Do you have honey or Karo at home to rub in his gums if he drops low?
Are the test strips the vet gave you the ones to check ketones?
Was the antinausea medication an injection? You will need to ask the vet for some tablets to give at home as well.
I would go back to the vet tomorrow and tell him
  • Your kitty is not eating and you need another antinausea injection AND some antinausea tablets to have at home.
  • Ask about swapping to a more suitable insulin such a Lantus or Prozinc.
  • Check hydration
  • Check ketones
  • Ask vet to give more sub Q fluids
Click to expand...
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Try and get him to eat a bit more and then I would give him 1/4 unit. That is less than the 1/2 unit you gave last time. you will also need to get him to eat during this cycle …ie during the next 12 hours. We need him to eat more food, bath for the ketones and so he doesn’t drop too low.
Then I would take him back to the vet about what I posted in the previous post.
Click to expand...
Ok thank you. It was shot for the nausea- we couldn’t get Lantus in time to begin treatment and vet said we needed to start b/c is was in bad shape quickly.
He’s not peeing so testing with strips is useless. Strips teat for both ketones and blood sugar. The needles I have done have 1/2 units- so 1/4 unit is going to be hard to gauge. I do have Karo. The pharmacy’s by me are poorly stocked for medication/supplies.
 
Feeling pretty discouraged. Already spent $1000. In vet and supply bills. Another thing I forgot to mention- he also has a uti- that was the original reason I brought him to vet and it’s been downhill from there. If he doesn’t eat I can’t restart with the antibiotic- which we had to stop to stabilize him yesterday. He started on shot antibiotic but it didn’t work. Poor little thing is going through so much. My heart is breaking.
 
Kerry Miller said:
Ok thank you. It was shot for the nausea- we couldn’t get Lantus in time to begin treatment and vet said we needed to start b/c is was in bad shape quickly.
He’s not peeing so testing with strips is useless. Strips teat for both ketones and blood sugar. The needles I have done have 1/2 units- so 1/4 unit is going to be hard to gauge. I do have Karo. The pharmacy’s by me are poorly stocked for medication/supplies.
Click to expand...

It does sound as if your vet is good!
So you are stuck with Novolin for a while but do try and get the change over to the long acting insulin when your kitty is more stable. Just checking that you are using Novolin N and not just plain Novolin.

There are no 1/4 unit insulin syringes at all so you will just have to eyeball it. Just make sure you are in a good light and use a magnifying glass if you have one.

Kerry Miller said:
Feeling pretty discouraged. Already spent $1000. In vet and supply bills. Another thing I forgot to mention- he also has a uti- that was the original reason I brought him to vet and it’s been downhill from there. If he doesn’t eat I can’t restart with the antibiotic- which we had to stop to stabilize him yesterday. He started on shot antibiotic but it didn’t work. Poor little thing is going through so much. My heart is breaking.
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It will get much better I promise. It is always overwhelming in the beginning even without a UTI and ketones. Try and hang in there and you will both get through it. The initial cost is always hard. Moving forward, if you get a ReliOn premier glucose meter from Walmart, the ongoing costs are not high.
If he is eating some food, I would give the antibiotic for the UTI as it is very important that we get that UTI cured, especially with ketones in the picture and not eating a lot.
So your priorities at the moment are
  • Getting him (name?) to eat as much as possible. Any food is ok at the moment. We can worry about low carb food later.
  • Not skipping doses of insulin
  • Making sure he gets his doses of antibiotic
  • Try and encourage drinking. I would normally say to add a teaspoon warm water to food …and you can do that if he will eat it.
  • You can use honey if necessary on his gums to bring the blood glucose up higher.
  • Go back to vet tomorrow and get the things done I mentioned in post 8
I am around foe the next 10 hours (I live in Australia) so keep posting and asking questions if you need to.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
It does sound as if your vet is good!
So you are stuck with Novolin for a while but do try and get the change over to the long acting insulin when your kitty is more stable. Just checking that you are using Novolin N and not just plain Novolin.

There are no 1/4 unit insulin syringes at all so you will just have to eyeball it. Just make sure you are in a good light and use a magnifying glass if you have one.


It will get much better I promise. It is always overwhelming in the beginning even without a UTI and ketones. Try and hang in there and you will both get through it. The initial cost is always hard. Moving forward, if you get a ReliOn premier glucose meter from Walmart, the ongoing costs are not high.
If he is eating some food, I would give the antibiotic for the UTI as it is very important that we get that UTI cured, especially with ketones in the picture and not eating a lot.
So your priorities at the moment are
  • Getting him (name?) to eat as much as possible. Any food is ok at the moment. We can worry about low carb food later.
  • Not skipping doses of insulin
  • Making sure he gets his doses of antibiotic
  • Try and encourage drinking. I would normally say to add a teaspoon warm water to food …and you can do that if he will eat it.
  • You can use honey if necessary on his gums to bring the blood glucose up higher.
  • Go back to vet tomorrow and get the things done I mentioned in post 8
I am around foe the next 10 hours (I live in Australia) so keep posting and asking questions if you need to.
Click to expand...
 
It’s a perfect storm. I’m worried he didn’t eat enough to give him any medicine (insulin or antibiotic). Can I wait until tomorrow to go back to vet or is that a bigger risk?
 
Kerry Miller said:
It’s a perfect storm. I’m worried he didn’t eat enough to give him any medicine (insulin or antibiotic). Can I wait until tomorrow to go back to vet or is that a bigger risk?
Click to expand...
I would try and get a bit more food into him….what are his favourite things and give the 1/4 unit and the antibiotics.
The reason I am saying this and I don’t want to scare you is …ketones can progress to DKA which is diabetic ketoacidosis which is very serious. And the recipe for DKA is not enough insulin, not enough food, an infection or inflammation.
So your kitty has an infection, and ketones so we have to counteract all of those and get rid of the ketones so they don’t progress.
So you can see why I don’t want you to miss a dose of insulin or the antibiotic. You can always rub honey on the gums.
Will he eat rotisserie chicken, cheese, Parmesan cheese.
HOW TO STIMULATE KITTIES APPETITE
 
Kerry Miller said:
Cat recently diagnosed. Vet for day yesterday to determine treatment program. Placed on one unit. Couldn’t give last night b/c left vet with low numbers. Ate 2 tablespoons last night, 2 ounces of waters. Today not eating or drinking. No peeing either. Pooped last night. Vet is closed. What do I do? He’s sleeping a lot- but alert- following me around house.
Click to expand...
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
How are things going.
Did you give the dose of insulin?
Has he eaten any more?
Click to expand...
 
I haven’t been able to get him to eat more. I tired everything. Gave him 1/4 unit. He’s resting. I wasn’t able to get him to take the antibiotic. Thank you for your help. I will follow up with the vet in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for the little guy.
 
Kerry Miller said:
I haven’t been able to get him to eat more. I tired everything. Gave him 1/4 unit. He’s resting. I wasn’t able to get him to take the antibiotic. Thank you for your help. I will follow up with the vet in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for the little guy.
Click to expand...
Well done giving the insulin. He might eat more a bit later on.
Keep an eye on him and if you are concerned ...he is wobbly like a drunk or very hungry...give him some honey on the gums and food if he'll eat.
Is the antibiotic a tablet or liquid.?
Ask the vet to show you how to give the antibiotic as its important he gets it.

Please also think about hometesting the blood glucose.
You have done well! It will get much easier :bighug:
Please let us know how you get on at the vet
 
Took the little guy to the vet- mildly dehydrated-treated with fluids. No keystones in urine- but uti remains. Blood sugar 184.

liver enzymes little evaluated
Low end of average for white blood cells
Pancreas enzymes little elevated
Nothing else noted in bloodwork.

still not more than few licks of eating or drinking

X-ray showed nothing abnormal.

will be treated to increase appetite and given 24 antibiotic to stimulate eating- to hopefully get him back into an antibiotic treatment.

if not responsive hospital care is recommended.

No diagnosis beyond uti/diabetes and unknown cause
 
In the future if you switch to lantus which I hope you do it's expensive in the US but members use the generic lantus which if absolutely fine.I can suggest where to buy it just ask me :cat:
 
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